The Top 5 Sprinters Ever – Can Gatlin upset the All-time Rankings in Beijing World Championships?
3. Yohan Blake
He was regarded as the perfect successor to Usain Bolt, but following a series of injuries, Yohan Blake was relegated to the side lines for the better part of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The first sub-10s of his career (9.96s) made him the youngest athlete ever to achieve this feat.
Blake won his first individual World Championships title in 2011 after Bolt was disqualified for a false start, becoming the youngest 100m world champion ever at 21 years 245 days. He posed a serious threat to Bolt’s title defence ahead of the Olympics after beating him in the 100m/200m at the 2012 Jamaican Trials. However he ended up with Silver in both events at the Olympic Games behind Bolt, and GOLD in the 4x100m.
The 25-year old is tied with Gay as the 2nd fastest man ever after setting a PB of 9.69s at the 2012 Diamond League in Lausanne. He is also the 2nd fastest man in history in the 200m behind Bolt with a time of 19.26s set in Brussels in 2011. Blake suffered a hamstring injury in April of 2013 and could not qualify for the 200m at the national trials. He eventually pulled out of the 100m event in Moscow and was unable to defend his title.
He’s yet to return to form ever since, and failed to advance to the final of this year’s Jamaican Trials. He is still battling to meet the qualifying mark for the Beijing Championships, clocking an SB of 10.20s in Luzern which puts him on a distant No.113 on the 2015 Top List.
Being the youngest of the Top 5, Blake’s fans will be yearning to see him return to shape, and the best bet for a perfect comeback may be at next year’s Olympic Games. Hopefully, he will be able to unleash the beast in him in Rio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4PoSPVwIr0
